Car-coupler-operating device



Oct. 16, 1928. 1,688,154

L. s. PRATT GAR COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 1, 192 2 Sheets-Sheet l OctQlG, 1928.

L. s. PRATT CAR COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE Filed Nov 1, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet ill) lfatented Get. 16, 1928.

LUCIUS S. PRATT, OF BOAH'UKE, VIRGINXA.

CAR-CG'UIPLEB-OTEERATING DEVlCE.

Application filed November Car coupler operating devices are installed on railway cars to operate the coupler from adacent the side of the car, thus eliminating the necessity of the trainmangoing between the cars. Such a device is required by the safety appliance standards of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

in object of my invention is to provide a device which is operable from the side of the car by asubstantially horizontal move ment, preferably in either direction, and which attached to the coupler and provides the necessary vertical movement to raise the cmipler lock block and throw the knuckle, which latter function, however, is performed by elements within the coupler head and is independent of my device.

Another object is to so arrange and pro portion the component parts of such a device and toprovide friction reducing members so as to reduce the force necessary to operate the device to a minimum.

Another object is to form the component parts of the device so that they interactwith each other, whereby after the device is attached to the car by two simple bolts the several elements are; held in operative position.

.ln the drawingsi Fig. 1 shows an. elevation of my device in normal position. 7

2 is a top plan view of 1.

Fig. 3 shows my-device with the coupler lock raised by a horizontal movementtoward the car. I

Fig. f shows my device with the coupler lock raised by a horizontal movement away from the car.

Fig. 5 shows a modified construction having rollers between the operating arm and pin lifting lever, and also between the op erat ng lever and the fulcrum.

r 1g. 6 1s a top plan view of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section on line 'i7 of Fig. 5.

The usual parts of the car are shown, such as the end sill 1; striking casting 2; coupler carrier 3; coupler 4i, and coupler lock lifter 5 with its eye 6.

lvly device comprises a pinlifting lever 7 which is connected to the coupler lock preferably by providing a reduced portion 8 which passes through the lock lifter eye 6, so that the coupler mayinove freely-laterally or longitudinally of itself without affecting my device. The other end of the pin lifting lever 7 is fulcriuned to the car by means of 1, less; seriai No. 145,513;

a fulcrum 10 which preferably has an upper horizontal portion 11. This lever is provided with at least one inclined surface (12 or 13) but preferably has two such inclined surfaces (12 and 13) oppositely disposed. In the form illustrated, the lever is made of a fiat bar perforated at one end to accommo date the fulcrum 10 and hammered down at the other end to form a reduced section 8 and the oppositely disposed inclined surfaces are formed by simply bending the bar in a vertical plane.

The pin lifting lever is operated by a operating arm which normally rests upon the upper horizontal portion 11 of the fulcrum. This arm has a portion 21 positioned adjacent the inclined surface (when only one surface is provided) and between the oppositely disposed inclined surfaces when two such surfaces are provided.

When the operatingarm is moved horizontally the portion 21 of the arm is caused to move under the adjacent inclined surfaces 1213 of the pin lifting lever, whereby the end of the lever adjacentthe coupler is moved upwardly, thereby operating the coupler.

The associated parts are positioned and dimensioned according to the amount of movement and force desired.

lhe outer end of the operating arm is pivotally attached to an auxiliary lever 23 which is fulcrumed to the car in any convenient manner and may be a lever of the first, second or. third order and still come within my invention. In the form illus trated, the upper end of such an auxiliary lever 23 is fulcrumed to the car at 25 and the lower end is provided with a handle 26 and the operating arm is connected between the ends of the leverat 27. A movement of the lower end of this auxiliary lever causes a horizontal movement of the operating arm.

In case of a coupler carrier (3) failure the coupler is supported by my device and if a coupler breaks or any part of my device fails, the operator is not precipitated upon the rail nor is the pin lifting lever caused to fly around and strike him.

The main portion (352) of the operating; arm (20) is behind the pin lifting lever and the operating; arm has a lip 33 which projects upwardly in front of the lever '4" Wlliull construction restricts the horizontal. movement between the arm and lever beyond that necessary to accommodate service conditions.

6 and 7 show a modified form wherein a roller 40 is mounted upon the end of the operating lever 7 which upon a horizontal movement of this lever engages the inclined surfaces 12 or 13 of the pin lifting lever and raises the coupler lock. The roller 41 is mounted upon the fulcrum 42 and is held in place by the washer f?) and bolt let. These anti-friction rollers are shrouded to retain their respective levers in proper relation thereto. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skillcdin the art. a

I claim:

1. In an operating device for a railway car coupler, a pin lifting lever having a fulcrum adjacent one end and an operative connection to a car coupler adjacent the other end, said lever provided with oppositely disposed inclined surfaces, and an operating arm having a slidable engagement upon a car part and having-a portion positioned between said inclined surfaces whereby a horizontal movement of said arm in either direction causes said portion to move under said inclined surfaces so as to raise the coupler end of said lever.

2. In an operating device for a railway car couple-r, a pin lifting lever having a fulcrum adjacent one end and an operative'connection to a car coupler adjacent the other end, said lever provided with an inclined surface, and an operating arm having a slidable engagement upon the fulcrum for said lever and having a portion positioned adjacent said inclined surface whereby a horizontal movement of said arm in one, direction causes said portion to move under said inclined surface so as to raise thecoupler end of said lever.

tion, to move under said inclined surface so i as to raise the coupler end of said lever, and a normally vertically positioned auxiliary lever fulcrumed upon the car and pivotally connected to said pin lifting lever.

a. In an operating device for a railway car coupler, a pin lifting lever having a fulcrum adjacent one end and an operative con- 7 nectionto a car coupler adjacent the other end, said lever provided with an inclined surface, and an operating arm capable of novement only in a substantially horizontal plane and having a portion positioned adjacent said inclined surface whereby a horizontal movement of said arm in one direction causes said portion to move under said inclined surface so as to raise the coupler endof saidlever. v

5.- In an operating device for a railway car coupler, a pin lifting lever having a fulcrum adjacent one end and an operative connection to a car coupler adjacent the other end, said lever provided with oppositely disposed inclined surfaces, an operating arm having a slidable engagement upon the fulcrum for said lever and having a portion positioned between said inclined surfaces whereby a horizontal movement of lever fulcrumed upon the car and pivotally connectedto said pinlifting lever.

I LUGIUS s. PRATT. 

